Page 5 - May2008

58 THE NATIONAL 'BuTTon BULLETIN May 2008

The President's Message

Dear fellow NBS members,

By now, "spring has sprung" for most of us around the
country and abroad. And with springtime always comes
new beginnings. You may not be aware, but your Board has
been meeting on a regular basis via teleconference since last
August. We have been able to address many concerns from
the membership as well as begin developing a plan for the
Tammy Jones
sustainability of our Society. Recently the Board maiJed a President
letter to each Life Member. It outlined several options for us
to help the Society pay the minimum cost of printing and shipping our Bulletins.
With the support and help of our membership we will be able to accomplish a
lot for our Society. Please be open and willing if called upon by your Officers and
Board to help in any way. It is truly an exciting time to be collecting buttons.
I was once again able to attend the Indiana Button Society's annual show in
Columbus in April. There were wonderful buttons to see and buy, old friends
to catch up with as weJl as new ones to be made, and of course a great program.
This year's program was on the "china dump" by Jane Quimby. Some of the china
buttons that she and Deb have found are amazing. It is obvious that there are
still plenty of buttons out there that we really do not know anything about. As
an educator, I am so pleased that Jane and Deb are discovering and documenting
these new findings as well as being so willing to share what they have learned with
us. This is how we all learn about and discover new and exciting things about our
hobby. And it is how those who come after us will have information upon which
they can build.
One of the most rewarding aspects of our hobby is the sharing of informa-
tion. Again I urge each of us "older" members and collectors to be willing to
"adopt" and mentor a newbie. We also need to be reaching out to other collectors
of antiquities and sharing with them how our buttons relate to their hobby. The
National Convention in Appleton would be a great place to invite someone to
attend. There they can learn about button collecting and see the wide array of
buttons firsthand.
Plans are in the final stages for what looks promises to be a great conference.
The NBS Board of Directors is hosting, this one and we would love to have a great
turnout. Please plan now to attend. Take a moment to look over the information
about the convention in this Bulletin and begin making your preparations. I hope
to see a lot of you there!
Happy buttoning!
- Tammy Jones